难乎为继 nán hū wéi jì Difficult to continue

Explanation

难以继续下去，无法支撑。多用于描述情况或状态持续的困难，难以维持。

Difficult to continue, unsustainable. Often used to describe the difficulties of a situation or state that is difficult to maintain.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有一个名叫李白的诗人，他一生放荡不羁，才华横溢，写下了许多流芳百世的诗篇。然而，他的生活却常常捉襟见肘，入不敷出。他喜欢结交朋友，常常挥金如土，日子过得潇洒自在，却也因此常常陷入经济困境。有一次，他与朋友们在长安城郊的一家酒楼饮酒作乐，席间，他兴致勃勃地吟诵了自己的新作，朋友们纷纷赞扬他的才华。酒过三巡，李白却突然神情黯然，叹了口气道："如今我已年过半百，纵然有满腹才华，却也难乎为继啊！"他所说的"难乎为继"，指的是他的生活窘迫，入不敷出，难以维持下去。朋友们听了，都感到惋惜不已。

huà shuō táng cháo shíqī, yǒu yīgè míng jiào lǐ bái de shī rén, tā yīshēng fàngdàng bùjī, cáihuá héngyì, xiě xià le xǔduō liúfāng bǎishì de shīpiān。rán'ér, tā de shēnghuó què chángcháng zhuōjīn jiězhǒu, rù bù fū chū。tā xǐhuan jiéjiāo péngyou, chángcháng huījīn rú tǔ, rìzi guò de xiāosǎ zìzài, què yě yīncǐ chángcháng xiànrù jīngjì kùnjìng。yǒu yīcì, tā yǔ péngyou men zài cháng'ān chéng jiāo de yī jiā jiǔlóu yǐnjiǔ zuòlè, xí jiān, tā xìngzhì bó bó de yínsòng le zìjǐ de xīnzuò, péngyou men fēnfēn zànyáng tā de cáihuá。jiǔ guò sān xún, lǐ bái què tūrán shénqíng ànrán, tàn le kǒudài dào："rújīn wǒ yǐ nián guò bàn bǎi, zòngrán yǒu mǎnfù cáihuá, què yě nánhū wéijì a！" tā suǒ shuō de "nánhū wéijì", zhǐ de shì tā de shēnghuó jiǒngpò, rù bù fū chū, nán yǐ wéichí xiàqù。péngyou men tīng le, dōu gǎndào wǎnxī bù yǐ。

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a poet named Li Bai, who was unrestrained and talented throughout his life, and wrote many poems that have been passed down through the ages. However, his life was often poor, and his income was not enough to cover his expenses. He liked to make friends and often spent money like water, living a carefree life, but also often falling into financial difficulties. Once, he was drinking and having fun with his friends at a restaurant on the outskirts of Chang'an city. During the banquet, he enthusiastically recited his new works, and his friends praised his talent. After a few rounds of wine, Li Bai suddenly looked gloomy, sighed, and said: "Now that I am over fifty years old, even if I have a full heart of talent, it is still difficult to continue!" What he meant by "difficult to continue" was that his life was poor, his income was not enough to cover his expenses, and it was difficult to maintain. His friends were very regretful when they heard this.

Usage

用作谓语、宾语；形容难以继续下去。

yòng zuò wèiyǔ、bǐnyǔ；xíngróng nán yǐ jìxù xiàqù。

Used as predicate and object; describes that something cannot be continued.

Examples

• 公司经营状况日益恶化，已经到了难乎为继的地步。

  gōngsī jīngyíng zhuàngkuàng rìyì èhuà, yǐjīng dàole nánhū wéijì de dìbù。

  The company's business conditions are deteriorating day by day, and it has reached the point of being difficult to continue.

• 面对巨大的经济压力，小企业难乎为继，随时面临倒闭的风险。

  miàn duì jùdà de jīngjì yā lì, xiǎo qǐyè nánhū wéijì, suíshí miànlín dàobì de fēngxiǎn。

  Faced with enormous economic pressure, small businesses are struggling to survive and face the risk of bankruptcy at any time.

• 由于资金链断裂，这家工厂已经难乎为继，不得不停产。

  yóuyú zījīn liàn duànliè, zhè jiā gōngchǎng yǐjīng nánhū wéijì, bùdé bù tíng chǎn。

  Due to a broken capital chain, this factory is no longer able to continue production and has to shut down.

Related Idioms

• 难以为继

• 岌岌可危

• 危在旦夕

Opposite Idioms

• 轻而易举

• 易如反掌